Advances in environmental protection and public health result from democratic processes that debate environmental health concerns and propose legislative and other policy solutions. Delineating the delicate relationship between environmental policy and public health, Environmental Policy and Public Health explores the development of environmental health policies, the statutes that address public health concerns about specific environmental hazards, and policy issues that impact environmental health programs.

Covering the fundamentals of environmental policy, this concise guide identifies the steps in environmental policy making, the federal government's environmental health structure, and the general environmental status. It focuses on environmental hazards, including air contamination, water pollution, unsafe food, pesticides and toxic substances, and hazardous waste that have been associated with degraded human health. The book provides a unique description of international environmental health organizations and programs and describes how risk assessment has become an integral policy in environmental health legislation.

Presenting a historical perspective of how environmental health has evolved, Environmental Policy and Public Health is the first book to bridge human health concerns and environmental protection. The book relates the relationship between controlling environmental hazards and the impact on human health and public health practice. It outlines how environmental justice has evolved and has been integrated into government environmental policies.